The CLF Annual Report 2019-20 provides a snapshot of some of the scientific and technical research that has been carried out by users of the CLF and its staff over the financial year 2019-20. Hard copies are available on request: please contact us if you wish to receive a printed version.
Where available, associated full articles are available to download or view below. All PDF documents open in a new tab.
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Foreword (PDF – 871 KB - link opens in a new window)
Overview (PDF – 198 KB - link opens in a new window)
Industrial engagement and innovation (PDF – 1,455 KB - link opens in a new window)
Communication and outreach activities within the CLF (PDF – 553 KB - link opens in a new window)
High Energy Density & High Intensity Physics (synopsis of each article) (PDF – 1,516 KB – link opens in a new window)
1. Computer tomography with laser-generated X-rays at Gemini (01 - Dann.pdf – 2,723 KB – link opens in a new window)
2. Laser wakefield acceleration with active feedback at 5Hz (Link to published paper)
3. High order mode structure of intense light fields generated via a laser-driven relativistic plasma aperture (Link to published paper)
4. Low-density hydrodynamic optical-field-ionized plasma channels generated with an axicon lens (Link to published paper)
5. Single-shot multi-keV X-ray absorption spectroscopy using an ultrashort laser-wakefield accelerator source (Link to
published paper)
6. Dosimetry of laser-accelerated carbon ions for cell irradiation at ultra-high dose rate (Link to published paper)
7. Characteristics of ion beams generated in the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with ultra-thin foils (Link to published paper)
8. Selective ion acceleration by intense radiation pressure (08 - McIlvenny.pdf – 2,723 KB – link opens in a new window)
9. Generation of electron high energy beams with a ring-like structure by a dual stage laser wakefield accelerator (Link to
published paper)
10. Absolute calibration of microchannel plate detector for carbon ions up to 250 MeV (Link to published paper)
11. Wakefields in a cluster plasma (Link to published paper)
12. Calorimetry techniques for absolute dosimetry of laser-driven ion (12 - McCallum.pdf – 415 KB – link opens in a new window)
13. Multi-species hybrid ion acceleration from ps, PW interactions with ultra-thin foils (13 - McCusker.pdf – 1,040 KB – link opens
in a new window)
14. Light-sail acceleration from two moderate intensity pulses (14 - Martin.pdf – 520 KB – link opens in a new window)
15. Extending proton energy gain in laser-driven helical coil targets (15 - Ferguson.pdf – 1,002 KB – link opens in a new window)
16. Field reconstruction from proton radiography of intense laser-driven magnetic reconnection (Link to published paper)
17. Collisionless shock acceleration from laser-irradiated foam targets (17 - Spiers.pdf – 746 KB – link opens in a new window)
18. Supersonic plasma turbulence in the laboratory (Link to published paper)
19. Proton acceleration from a cryogenic hydrogen ribbon (19 - Martin.pdf – 746 KB – link opens in a new window)
Laser Science & Development (synopsis of each article) (PDF – 1,356 KB – link opens in a new window)
20. Stable high-energy, high-repetition-rate, frequency doubling in a large aperture temperature-controlled LBO at 515 nm (Link to
published paper)
21. Pushing the boundaries of diode-pumped solid-state lasers for high-energy applications (Link to published paper)
22. High-resolution absorption measurement at the zero phonon line of Yb:YAG between 80K and 300K (Link to published paper)
23. Double rotating angled flanges for adjustable diagnostic pointing (23 - Matthews.pdf – 583 KB – link opens in a new window)
24. Software developments in Gemini (24 - Marshall.pdf – 203 KB – link opens in a new window)
25. Installation of an independent probe beamline in Gemini TA3 (25 - Alderton.pdf – 3,875 KB – link opens in a new window)
26. Replacement of the transmission grating in the Gemini pulse stretcher (26 - Hooker.pdf – 419 KB – link opens in a new window)
27. Redesign of Gemini double plasma mirror system (27 - Dzelainis.pdf – 245 KB – link opens in a new window)
28. Characterisation of duration-tuneable heavily-chirped pulses from the Gemini beamline using a streak camera (28 - Pinto.pdf –
279 KB – link opens in a new window)
29. Upgrading the kHz pump laser for the Gemini front-end (29 - Tang.pdf – 215 KB – link opens in a new window)
30. Development of low-density sine wave targets for high-power laser experiments (30 - Ariyathilaka.pdf – 815 KB – link opens
in a new window)
31. Super-resolution cryogenic correlative light and electron microscopy reveals protein organisation in the context of intact cellular
ultrastructure (31 - Wang.pdf – 271 KB – link opens in a new window)
32. Improving signal to noise ratios for transient absorption spectroscopy using an alternative referencing method (32 - Donaldson.pdf
– 369 KB – link opens in a new window)
33. Synchronised sample movement and pump laser timing in Time Resolved Multiple Probe Spectroscopy (TRMPS)
(33 - Donaldson.pdf – 784 KB – link opens in a new window)
34. Development of a single-shot third-order cross-correlator for Vulcan (34 - Bradley.pdf – 808 KB – link opens in a new window)
35. Comparing temporal contrast measurements taken in the Vulcan front-end and target area petawatt (35 - Bradley.pdf – 6,390 KB
– link opens in a new window)
36. Progress on improving stability of the short picosecond pulse by fast stabilisation in Vulcan (36 - Bradley.pdf – 7,630 KB – link
opens in a new window)
Artemis update (PDF – 392 KB – link opens in a new window)
Plasma Diagnostics (synopsis of each article) (PDF – 567 KB – link opens in a new window)
37. A characterisation of the Figaro electromagnet electron spectrometer (37 - Gerenstein.pdf – 1,170 KB – link opens in a new
window)
38. Compact scintillator – silicon photomultiplier hard X-ray detectors for laser-plasma diagnosis (38 - Patel.pdf – 2,689 KB – link
opens in a new window)
39. Assessing collection efficiency for a scintillator-based high repetition radiography detector (39 - Patel.pdf – 1,356 KB – link
opens in a new window)
40. Improving collimation of optical flux emission from scintillator crystals (40 - Patel.pdf – 4,499 KB – link opens in a new window)
41. Accounting for spectral bandwidth broadening due to self-phase modulation in measurements of laser pulse transmission
through a dense plasma (41 - Dolier.pdf – 2,911 KB – link opens in a new window)
42. Absolute Cherenkov photon measurements via angular calibration of a fused silica scatter screen (42 - Patel.pdf – 750 KB –
link opens in a new window)
Imaging & Dynamics for Physical & Life Sciences (synopsis of each article) (PDF – 2,055 KB – link opens in a new window)
43. Multimodal imaging of autofluorescent sites reveals varied chemical speciation in zeolites for catalysis (Link to published paper)
44. Detection of drug-protein complexes in aqueous serum using two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy (44 - Hunt.pdf – 419 KB
– link opens in a new window)
45. Identification of a rare manganese dinitrogen complex (45 - Lynam.pdf – 2,325 KB – link opens in a new window)
46. Mapping photochemical cycles over femtosecond to millisecond timescales using transient absorption spectroscopy
(46 - Orr-Ewing.pdf – 326 KB – link opens in a new window)
47. Understanding hydrogenases by ultrafast and 2D-IR spectroscopy: proof-of-concept, recent advances and future avenues
(47 - Horch.pdf – 692 KB – link opens in a new window)
48. Understanding cation dynamics in caesium substituted organohalide perovskites (48 - Bakulin.pdf – 491 KB – link opens
in a new window)
49. Functional dynamics of a single tryptophan residue in a BLUF protein revealed by fluorescence spectroscopy (Link to
published paper)
50. Overcoming the challenges of measuring the irreversible photochemical dynamics of a 'tricky' protein using time-resolved infrared
spectroscopy: the B12-dependent transcriptional regulator, CarH (50 - Jones.pdf – 304 KB – link opens in a new window)
51. Unraveling the mechanism of a LOV domain optogenetic sensor: a glutamine lever induces unfolding of the J∝ Helix (Link
to published paper)
52. A time-resolved spectroscopic study of BODIPY copolymers and their application as photosensitisers for hydrogen evolution
(Link to published paper)
53. From sunscreens to medicines: Can a dissipation hypothesis explain the beneficial aspects of many plant compounds?
(Link to published paper)
54. Controlling the fluorescence and room-temperature phosphorescence behaviour of carbon nanodots with inorganic crystalline
nanocomposites (Link to published paper)
55. Multiphoton fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and super-resolution fluorescence imaging with a supramolecular
biopolymer for the controlled tagging of polysaccharides (Link to published paper)
56. A dinuclear Ruthenium(II) complex excited by Near-infrared light through two-photon absorption induces phototoxicity deep
within hypoxic regions of melanoma cancer spheroids (Link to published paper)
57. The Photophysical Properties of Triisopropylsilyl-ethynylpentacene - a Molecule with an Unusually Large Singlet-Triplet Energy
Gap - in Solution and Solid Phases (Link to published paper)
58. Measurement of the fluorescence lifetime of GFP in high refractive index levitated droplets using FLIM (Link to published paper)
59. Supramolecular clustering of the cardiac sodium channel Nav1.5 in HEK293F cells, with and without the auxiliary β3-subunit
(Link to published paper)
60. Direct imaging of the recruitment and phosphorylation of S6K1 in the mTORC1 pathway in living cells (Link to published paper)
61. A highly dynamic F-actin network regulates transport and recycling of micronemes in Toxoplasma Gondii vacuoles (Link to
published paper)
62. Manipulation and deposition of complex, functional block copolymer nanostructures using optical tweezers (Link to published paper)
63. A global sampler of single particle tracking solutions for single molecule microscopy (Link to published paper)
64. Miro2 tethers the ER to mitochondria to promote mitochondrial fusion in tobacco leaf epidermal cells (Link to published paper)
Operational Statistics (PDF – 570 KB – link opens in a new window)
Publications (PDF – 213 KB – link opens in a new window)
Panel Membership (PDF – 102 KB – link opens in a new window)
CLF Structure (PDF – 320 KB – link opens in a new window)
